Guide to Kuta, Lombok: my favorite chill, surf town of Indonesia

January 2025

A month in Kuta, my favorite place to call home in Indonesia

Kuta, Lombok quickly became one of my favorite places during my travels in Indonesia. I arrived after 1 month of bouncing around Indonesia, whereas I normally like to travel slower, and honestly I was exhausted. I arrived hoping to find a place I would like enough to chill out, call home, and settle down at for a little bit, and that was exactly what I was lucky enough to find in Kuta. My friend said it would be the kind of place where I would want to extend on and on and on to forever, and boy was she right. I started out staying just a week, and loved it so much I ended up staying a month there and then visiting a few more times. It was a bittersweet goodbye.

Kuta is a small beach town that somewhat revolves around a chill surf vibe. There are a handful of bustling main streets lined with cheap warungs (local eateries), restaurants, cafes, shops, and bars, and it’s surrounded by beaches that you can lounge, relax, and surf at. While people oftentimes visit Kuta to surf, there are plenty of things to do otherwise and a laidback atmosphere that makes simply being there enjoyable. You can lounge at the various beaches, explore the island by scooter, eat your way through plenty of delicious cuisine, and enjoy the nightlife of a casual beach town.

The vibe in Kuta is perhaps my favorite thing about it. It feels very laidback and relaxed, where life mostly revolves around chilling and surfing, yet there are still plenty of things to do everyday, that you’ll never feel bored. There’s a good mix of traveler and local life, and it doesn’t feel too touristy, especially in comparison to places like Bali. The vibe of the people there is friendly and relaxed, and it’s the kind of place that draws you in to stick around longer. Kuta really offers the perfect mix of surf, chill, and adventure, and is an ideal place to slow down and just enjoy life.

Contents

Getting to and around Kuta

Where to stay in Kuta

Guide to beaches in Kuta

Guide to surfing in Kuta

What to do besides beaches and surf

What to eat and drink in Kuta

Day and weekend trips from Kuta

Getting to and around Kuta

Getting to Kuta by plane

Lombok has a small international airport. If you fly directly into Lombok, you can call a Grab (Indonesia’s Uber) from the airport to Kuta. It’s only about 30 minutes away and should cost you around 200K IDR ($13). You can get a Grab from the airport but I’d recommend installing the app ahead of time, as prices will be cheaper.

Getting to Kuta by land / boat

If you’re coming from Bali or the Gili Islands, you’ll arrive Lombok at Bangsal Harbor in the north. Then, it’s a 2-3 hour drive from the harbor to Kuta. To get from the harbor to Kuta, you can take a shared car or a private car.

• Shared car – There are many shared car companies, and you can find them around town in Bali or the Gilis. They cost 150K IDR ($10) and is the most economical option, but is oftentimes an uncomfortable ride with a ton of people and no AC.

• Private car – It costs around 400K per car, so the price is similar to the shared car if you have 2+ people. Here is the contact info of two recommended drivers: Sutthan +62 877-8764-6878 and Purna +62 878-6559-2928. Both are very friendly and professional.

Getting around Kuta

Renting a scooter is a necessity in Kuta. Many other places in Indonesia have Grab, but it doesn’t operate in Kuta, and Kuta is spread out enough that you’ll need a scooter to get anywhere. Most things you’ll want to do are outside of town itself, with beaches being around a 20 minute drive. Within the center of town, things are walkable, but if your accommodation is even a 15 minute walk from town, streets in Indonesia don’t have sidewalks and a 15 minute walk isn’t actually that pleasant. If you’re only staying in town and going on guided surf trips that includes transport to and from Kuta, you can probably get away without a scooter, but your freedom will be really limited.

If you’ve never ridden a scooter before, Kuta is a great place to start! The roads are wide, paved, and not crowded. I actually learned to ride in Kuta as well! I was ridiculously nervous and so a friend took me to an empty parking lot here to practice first, though many people just hop on the scooter and figure it out on the road right away.

Where to rent a scooter

The simplest option is to rent a scooter from your accommodation. Botchan Hostel had scooter rentals for 60K IDR ($4) per day – super good deal! If your accommodation doesn’t have scooter rentals, the best place in town to rent from is Scooter Lombok. We were able to rent a nice and new scooter (Vario 125) for 70K IDR ($4.50) per day.

Where to stay in Kuta

Kuta is a small town with a few main streets that make up the main part of town. There are tons of accommodations in the main part of town, as well as a bit outside of town. I prefer to stay a bit outside of town, as it’s quieter and more peaceful, but still easily accessible to the main hustle and bustle (a 20 min walk or 3 min scooter ride).

There’s all sorts of accommodation in Kuta, including hotels, villas, surf camps, homestays, and hostels.

I stayed at Botchan Hostel, which I loved and would highly recommend. It’s a perfect mix of laid-back and social, where you can easily do your own thing, but always find people to meet if you want to. Socializing here feels easy and organic, and there’s plenty of opportunities to meet people. Like Kuta in general, most people are there to surf, but you'll also find plenty of people just enjoying beach days and exploring the area. I stayed for 1 month, and it really felt like a home away from home!

If you’re looking for something in-between a hostel and a hotel, try Secret Spot Surf and Stay. It’s technically a hostel since it has dorm rooms, but it’s quieter, nicer, and has a killer breakfast, giving off more hotel vibes.

If you’re looking for something even more private, Sammy Homestay is a great option. It has beautiful facilities and is simple, clean, and a good price.

Guide to beaches around Kuta

Tajung Aan

Tajung Aan is a beautiful beach with a large white sand area about a 15 minute scooter ride from Kuta. It’s my favorite beach to chill at. It’s perfect for reading a book, enjoying a beer, and going for a swim. It’s a good beach for swimming and there are several warungs along the beach where you can buy food and drink. I would say it’s the prettiest beach in the Kuta area.

Mawun

Mawun Beach is in a large bay, and is also a nice beach to hang out at. There’s a nice, white sandy beach and a handful of warungs where you can buy food and drink from. It’s smaller and less visited than Tajung Aan, and since it’s enclosed in a bay, there’s a nice, quaint feel to it. It’s my second choice beach to lounge at for the day.

Mawi

Mawi is a nice, small beach in a small cove. There’s advanced surf here, which is the main reason people come. It’s one of the furthest from Kuta - about 40 minutes away by scooter with the last 15 minutes being down an unpaved dirt road - so people usually only make the trip to chase waves. It’s also a nice beach to spend a few hours at. It’s small, so it feels nice and cozy, and there’s one warung where you can buy food and drink from. Since it takes quite a bit of effort to reach though, I’d say it’s generally not worth the effort of getting there just for a beach day, that it only makes sense to couple with surf. There’s also a shallow reef that makes it not suitable for swimming.

Other beaches

Other beaches nearby that I didn’t visit are Selong Belanak and Areguling Beach, though I’ve heard both can be quite nice. The main Kuta Beach has a lot of boats and trash and isn’t very nice to visit. I wouldn’t recommend spending much time there. If you want to go though, the part of the beach down by Mandalika is clean and nicer to visit.

Guide to surfing Kuta

Gerupuk

Gerupuk is just a little past Tajung Aan and is the best break for intermediate surfers. There’s no beach to lounge at here – it’s only for surfing. The breaks are all too far to paddle out (you cannot see them), and you have to take a boat out. When you arrive at the main Gerupuk parking area, there are several shops where you can rent a board for 50K IDR ($3) and also arrange a boat ride. The boat costs 200K IDR per boat ($12), or 50K IDR per person ($3) if you have 4+ people. You can either arrive with a group, or if you are solo, you can wait for other people to arrive and then join a boat together. The boat waits at the break for you for 2 hours and then takes you back.

There are actually several breaks here and each break is a different difficult level. The 3 main breaks are: Inside Right (intermediate), Outside Right (advanced), and Don Don (beginner). By far, Inside Right is the most popular one as it caters to most levels, including a beginner friendly shoulder area where a lot of surf lessons take place.

I only surfed Inside Right and I really enjoyed it. It’s a consistent wave generally 1-1.5m in size. It’s mainly a right, which then takes you to a channel where it’s easy to paddle back out. It tends to be very crowded though, especially with beginners on the shoulder. It also oftentimes breaks A-frame, creating a left, which I prefer simply because it’s not crowded. The downside is that there’s no channel and it can sometimes be impossible to get directly back out, so you have to go all the way right to get back out. It works at all tides and it’s mostly a seaweed bottom, so it’s even okay to go even at low tide. Wind and overall conditions are fairly consistent throughout the entire day.

My favorite time of day to go is at mid-day, simply because mornings and sunset are the most crowded. Mornings are especially crowded with beginner lessons. Most people don’t go during mid-day because the sun is too strong, but if you can handle the sun, I’d definitely recommend going then!

Tajung Aan

Tajung Aan is a beginner, or beginner to intermediate wave, with relatively small waves that are long and gentle rollers. It’s more of a longboard wave. You can rent a board on the beach for 50K IDR ($3) and optionally pay for a boat ride out to the break for another 50K IDR. The paddle out is long (about 15 minutes), but definitely manageable if you’ve been surfing for a while. If you’re a beginner surfer, maybe save your energy for the waves! Since it’s an easily accessible, beginner friendly break, the lineup is always crowded here. The waves break over a reef and at low tide, it’s too shallow to paddle out, so it’s only surfable at mid- to high- tide.

Mawi

Mawi is an advanced break, except at times with smaller swells, it can also be appropriate for intermediate surfers. It takes a bit of effort to reach - a 40 minute scooter ride with the last 15 minutes being down a bumpy dirt road - so it’s not for the faint of heart! The wave is a fast and hollow wave, and its tricky current can sometimes even give advanced surfers some pause. It has an A-frame break with a better left than right. And you have to be careful, as it’s a shallow reef break, you can only go out at mid- to high- tide.

Selong Belanak

This is the most beginner surf break in Kuta, and is where many people take their very first surf lessons. It’s a very gentle beach break that makes it perfect for learning to stand up in easy white wash, and maybe even catch your first baby green wave! This could be a good spot for your first 3 days of surfing, and then you should graduate to a bit bigger of a beginner wave, such as Tajung Aan or the beginner breaks at Gerupuk.

What to do in Kuta besides beaches and surfing

Drive around and explore the area by scooter

While you’ll probably spend the majority of your time surfing or lounging at the beach, there are also a ton of other nice things to do in the area. Since you’ll have a scooter, one of the first things you should do is just go drive around and explore! You can make a full day trip and explore all the way up to Selong Belanak, making a pitstop Mawi, and then all the way down to Tajung Aan and Gerupuk. The drive upwards towards Mawi is particularly nice.

Catch a sunset

There are also two main really nice sunset spots. The closer one is Ryan Cafe, which is up on a hill only around a 5-10 minute drive from town. You can order food and drinks at the cafe and enjoy the sunset over the hills. The second one is Bukit Merese, which is on a hill that overlooks the water and you can see the sunset over the vast ocean. It’s a beautiful spot but a bit further from town - about a 20 minute drive. There’s also one last one which a local friend recommended to me that I was never able to make it to, called Pantai Seger. It’s also supposed to be a really nice spot up on a hill that overlooks the ocean and is only around a 10 minute drive from town.

Get a massage

In town, there are tons of cheap massage options! My personal favorite was this local place. Over the month I was there, I went probably 5 times. It was a very consistently good massage, and costs only 100K IDR ($6). This is a cheap local massage place, but there are also many other nice Western spa places if that’s the vibe you’re going for.

Stay active - take a yoga class or hit the gym

Kuta has a healthy, outdoor living vibe that encourages staying active. You can take a yoga class at Ashtari, which has a beautiful outdoor yoga deck that’s on a hill and overlooks Kuta. Many people also take advantage of having a gym available to them in Kuta - something we oftentimes neglect while traveling! There are a few in town, but Loka is a popular one. There’s also a cafe there with great food where you can load up after a workout.

What to eat and drink in Kuta

Kuta had my favorite food scene in all my 4 months in Indonesia! What I loved was that there was a good mix of good, cheap local food, as well as plenty of Western food options if that’s more what you’re looking for.

Local food

• Cheap Zone – Large outdoor warung with seating along the street and a nice vibe. Great fresh seafood and cheap cocktails. The nasi goreng tuna satay is amazing and cocktails are 35K IDR ($2) all night long.

• Gulas Garden – Cute small warung along the street with outdoor garden seating. The nasi goreng was delicious, as was my friend’s schnitzel!

• Warung Bude – Local warung with the best nasi kuning, a must try during your time in Kuta! It’s a yellow rice dish that comes with a light curry sauce and omelet on top, and is served with tempe and tofu on the side. One of the most popular warungs of Kuta.

• Neo Kitchen – I really liked this place! It’s Indonesian food, but with their own spin on it. The food feels unique and elevated, but still local. It’s on a small side street that you would never pass by unless you were looking for it, and was a nice escape from other busier parts of Kuta.

• Lalapan Amanda – Very casual local warung on the street with huge portions, cheap prices, and a very friendly owner. Very popular place that I think most people go to for the street food vibes, but to me, the food is just decent, but still worth checking out during your time in Kuta.

• The buffet – I’m sure there is technically a name for this place, but everyone just calls it the buffet. Great post-surf meal where you can stuff yourself with a variety of Indonesian food for a cheap price.

• Warung Lamina – Located a bit outside of the main part of Kuta. Good and solid warung.
  

Western restaurants

• Simonetta – My favorite “fancy” Western restaurant. The food and ambience are both really good, and the price is reasonable (much cheaper than other Western restaurants). There’s also happy hour deal on cocktails from 4-8pm, and these were the best cocktails I had in Kuta!

• Pizza Shack – In my opinion the best pizza in Kuta. It’s in a nice garden setting that has a bit of a hipster feel. The staff are super friendly and it doesn’t feel pretentious despite its nice aesthetic.

• Boom Burger – Great burgers for really cheap (25K IDR // $1.50). It has a very lowkey vibe that feels more like a warung. The veggie mushroom burger is amazing, and my friends said it was even better than their meat burgers!

• Loka – Part cafe/restaurant, part gym. Has smoothie bowls, wraps, salads, juices, etc. and is great for breakfast or lunch. It’s in an interior garden setting and is also a good place to work.

• Piccolo – Great coffee and Western breakfast/lunch options located on a smaller side street. Feels like a little pocket of peace within Kuta with very friendly staff that make you feel at home. Also a good place to work during the day.

Nightlife & bars

Every night of the week, there is a main bar in town that everyone goes to. They trade off so that only one is open each night. It rotates between Surfer’s Bar and Rasta Bar, and on Wednesday’s they are both closed for Turtle Rave at Tajung Aan beach.

Both Surfer’s Bar and Rasta Bar are outdoor beach bars that have live music and a DJ every night. Both have space to sit, hang out, and dance. They’re quite similar, but I prefer Surfer’s Bar as vibe tends to be more lively there, versus more chill at Rasta Bar.

Turtle Rave is every Wednesday at Turtle Warung at Tajung Aan. Entry costs 100K IDR ($6) and includes a free drink. Tajung Aan is a 15 minute scooter ride from town, so you have to plan around being able to get yourself back by scooter as well. Most weeks, Turtle Rave has a techno DJ, though I’ve also heard that sometimes there are different genres. I honestly didn’t like Turtle Rave that much. It feels like it’s trying too hard to be a rave and I prefer the chiller beach bar scene, but if you’re in Kuta for a while, it’s worth it to check out at some point.

Aside from these 3 main bars, there are not a ton of other bar options in Kuta. A lot of restaurants do have happy hour deals from 4-8pm, so you can just walk around and see what you like! Here are a couple of bars I enjoyed though:

• Ketapang Beach Bar – This is a nice and lively outdoor bar with live music right along the beach. Usually pretty full with people sitting at tables eating and drinking while enjoying the live music.

• Cantina Mexicana – A Mexican restaurant that’s pretty good and also a place that would be a fun vibe to grab a few beers or margaritas at. On Thursday nights, they also have reggaeton night and you can go dancing!

Day and weekend trips from Kuta

If you’re staying in Kuta a bit longer and looking for more to explore, there are a lot of nice day and weekend trips around Lombok that you can do from Kuta. I spent 6 weeks on Lombok, and it’s a really nice island with local culture and beautiful diverse scenery.

Ekas

You can drive 1.5 hours east to Ekas, which is known for its pink sand beaches and natural undeveloped scenery. You can also find some decent uncrowded surf breaks here.

Sekotong

You can drive 2 hours west to Sekotong, another beautiful coastal area that’s much more local and untouched than both Ekas and Kuta. It’s known for its stunning coastal drives and ocean views from the tops of cliffs.

Tetebatu

Or, you can drive 1.5 hours north to Tetebatu for completely different scenery from the coast of the south. There, you’ll find beautiful jungle nature and you can visit waterfalls and idyllic rice fields. It’s a refreshing change from the beach and crowds of Kuta.

Overall, go to Kuta!

I really loved Kuta and would highly recommend it as a place to surf, chill, and enjoy the beach if you like a relaxed and easygoing pace of life while having adventurous things to do around. Here’s a more detailed account of my experience in Kuta if you’d like to read my personal travel blog :).